Michael Vey: Rise of the Elgen by Richard Paul Evans

Michael must save his mother—and protect his powers—in the electric sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling Michael Vey, from Richard Paul Evans. Michael was born with special electrical powers—and he’s not the only one. His friend Taylor has them too, and so do other kids around the world. With Michael’s friend Ostin, a tecno-genius, they form the Electroclan, an alliance meant to protect them from a powerful group, the growing Order of Elgen, who are out to destroy them. The leader of the Elgen, Dr. Hatch, has kidnapped Michael’s mother, and time is running out.

After narrowly escaping an Elgen trap, Ostin’s discovery of bizarre “rat fires” in South America leads the gang to the jungles of Peru, where the Electroclan meets new, powerful foes and faces their greatest challenge yet as Michael learns the extent of the Elgen’s rise in power—and the truth of their plan to “restructure” the world.

I thought the first book in this series was a great, but rather cookie cutter, adventure movie.  This book has totally turned the tables on that, though.  Less predictable and much more vivid, I liked this book even more than the first.  The plot twists were more carefully planned and skillfully executed.  The pacing was a little breakneck, but that keeps in line with the first book and the general "keep them wanting it" nature of novels like this.  The characters were highlighted much more in this book, and they really showed growth and abandoned their stereotypes to become actual people.  I especially liked the growth in the non-electrics Wade and Jack.  Their heroism and sense of loyalty really gives kids someone non-super to look up to.  I am less pleased with the continuing geek stereotyping of Ostin, however, I can also see how he is being used to give overweight kids or kids into computers and other geeky pursuits someone to attach themselves to.  If I had to have one complaint it would be that this book is rather graphic.  There is a lot of gross violence, including some really nasty things, and the descriptions of torture and mind control are also graphic and accurate, which all helps in making the book chilling and gripping but might be too much for some readers.  In all, I am even more pleased with this book than the first one and will be anxiously awaiting the next.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a non-biased review. 

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans

My name is Michael Vey, and the story I’m about to tell you is strange.
Very strange. It’s my story.
To everyone at Meridian High School, Michael Vey is an ordinary fourteen-year-old. In fact, the only thing that seems to set him apart is the fact that he has Tourette’s syndrome. But Michael is anything but ordinary. Michael has special powers. Electric powers.

Michael thinks he's unique until he discovers that a cheerleader named Taylor also has special powers. With the help of Michael’s friend, Ostin, the three of them set out to discover how Michael and Taylor ended up this way, but their investigation brings them to the attention of a powerful group who wants to control the electric children – and through them the world. Michael will have to rely on his wits, powers, and friends if he’s to survive.

 I hate saying "this is a boy book", but that's all I heard about this before I read it.  I can see why people are labeling it like that, though.  It's got a male lead character who has super powers, a strong plot line with arch-villains that don't really have much motivation for their dastardly deeds, and tons of action to keep the reader from poking holes in everything.  In fact, this book very much read like the narrative companion novel to an action movie.  That's not a bad thing, even though it may not appeal to all people.  It's just different from your character-driven romance novels. 

In fact, if I had to say something was lacking in this book it's character(s).  The characters are clear, but they're not really very differentiated from each other.  In fact, the author seems to characterize people by their super powers, which works okay for the kids but not really at all for the villains or the non-supers.  The differentiation is also very cliche' for the super kids, for example the one that can take away pain is super empathetic while the one that can take away power is a power-hungry torturer.  The cliche' doesn't end there, though.  The plot starts out very predictably: there's a boy hiding his super power, he discovers he's not the only one and suddenly a group out to get him kidnaps his girlfriend and his mother to hold as ransom until he uses his powers to do evil things for them.  The whole book reads pretty much as you'd expect with a plot like that.  However, just because it's predictable doesn't mean it's not also enjoyable.  The lack of character development is made up for in pure action.  There's a good dose of science thrown in, and I give special kudos to the author for trying hard to come up with a plausible reason for the superpowers and ways to differentiate powers while still grouping them along a theme.  In all, I label this book enjoyable but predictable, and which way the scales tip depends on the reader (and, possibly, their mood at the time of reading).

Adaptation by Malinda Lo

Reese can’t remember anything from the time between the accident and the day she woke up almost a month later. She only knows one thing: She’s different now. Across North America, flocks of birds hurl themselves into airplanes, causing at least a dozen to crash. Thousands of people die. Fearing terrorism, the United States government grounds all flights, and millions of travelers are stranded. Reese and her debate team partner and longtime crush David are in Arizona when it happens. Everyone knows the world will never be the same. On their drive home to San Francisco, along a stretch of empty highway at night in the middle of Nevada, a bird flies into their headlights. The car flips over. When they wake up in a military hospital, the doctor won’t tell them what happened, where they are—or how they’ve been miraculously healed. Things become even stranger when Reese returns home. San Francisco feels like a different place with police enforcing curfew, hazmat teams collecting dead birds, and a strange presence that seems to be following her. When Reese unexpectedly collides with the beautiful Amber Gray, her search for the truth is forced in an entirely new direction—and threatens to expose a vast global conspiracy that the government has worked for decades to keep secret.

As science fiction goes I thought this was really good. A little predictable, maybe, but exploring things that are kinda rare out there right now, which is always a plus in my book.  The best thing I think this book has going for it is its voice.  It has such an honest, believable tone that it really cuts to the quick of what being a teenager and exploring your sexuality and boundaries is really like.  Wrapping up the tone is a thriller plot that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire book.  The pacing had a few issues, especially with the romance which seemed to really stall out the plot, but Lo really knows where to twist the knife, and although I had predicted many of the twists they came up in such an original way that I didn't mind that they were sci-fi standard.  I believe fans of Cory Doctorow's Little Brother should pick up this book, it seemed very similar in tone and overarching theme.


I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

Timepiece by Myra McEntire

A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...

Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?

Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results.

Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...

The follow-up to Hourglass, Timepiece blends the paranormal, science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres into a nonstop thrill ride where every second counts.

Review of Hourglass, Book 1 in the series.

The first thing you’ll notice is that Timepiece switches to Kaleb’s point of view. McEntire is just as natural writing a male pov as a female, and I loved getting to know the inner workings of another character in the series. Kaleb’s specialty as an empath gives his character a boost in some situations, but McEntire is good about limiting those powers logically and showing how they can be stumbling blocks just as much as stepping stones. In fact, Kaleb suffers more than benefits from his empathic ability, and a lot of his character growth centers around his learning to deal with the pain and suffering he can sense in other people. The people around him are great as well, helping him to learn to deal as well as learning about him in the process. We also get a good view of Emerson and Michael’s relationship development, which I like because Kaleb’s third person view rather mimics Emerson’s view of her brother Thomas’ relationship with Dru. I did feel that Kaleb’s relationship with Lily felt a bit contrived, like the author was pairing up the last available characters because everyone needs a couple, but the relationship felt realistic enough that I excused the “we all need someone to complete us” vibe I was getting from it.

Although the book is heavy on character development there is a great plot going on as well. I won’t say much about it so you’re not spoiled, but we do learn more about Hourglass and Jack’s history as well as motivation for what Jack and Chronos do and why they’re scared now and want to bring down the Hourglass. The plot moves quickly, leaving little time to notice the few small flaws it may have. In all I thought this was a good second book, not suffering at all from second book syndrome, and other than the small irritation of relationship contrivance I loved reading it.

A copy of this book was provided to me through NetGalley for free in exchange for an unbiased review.

Plague by Michael Grant

It's been eight months since all the adults disappeared. GONE. They've survived hunger. They've survived lies. But the stakes keep rising, and the dystopian horror keeps building. Yet despite the simmering unrest left behind by so many battles, power struggles, and angry divides, there is a momentary calm in Perdido Beach. But enemies in the FAYZ don't just fade away, and in the quiet, deadly things are stirring, mutating, and finding their way free. The Darkness has found its way into the mind of its Nemesis at last and is controlling it through a haze of delirium and confusion. A highly contagious, fatal illness spreads at an alarming rate. Sinister, predatory insects terrorize Perdido Beach. And Sam, Astrid, Diana, and Caine are plagued by a growing doubt that they'll escape - or even survive - life in the FAYZ. With so much turmoil surrounding them, what desperate choices will they make when it comes to saving themselves and those they love? Plague, Michale Grant's fourth book in the bestselling Gone series, will satisfy dystopian fans of all ages.

I love how this series is really starting to catch its wind. With this book it takes the sharp left turn into fantasy that had been hinted at in the last three books, however, I consider that a strong suit. In giving up any contrivance of a scientific basis and setting up a world where there were rules but they were governed by one person’s notions there is so much explanation and holes that can be just skipped over. Thankfully it also gets us away from the nuclear power plant where most of my scientific issues reside (darn that military nuclear training and the nuclear engineer husband making books difficult!).

This book also took a turn for the better because I really started to have hope for the characters. There is so much more in the expansive world of the FAYZ than what we’ve been shown, and this book showed us that with a little sleight-of-hand our characters can discover new places and new ways to survive (I had been wondering about the military base for a long time, it was on the map the whole time, and military bases have grocery stores and industrial cafeterias too!). I also liked the growth of the female characters in this book. Astrid’s breakdown was a long time coming, and I think it really played out in a realistic and compelling way. I really empathized with her issue and the conflict between her intellect and her morality. It was an interesting foil to the conflict with Diana’s feelings and her morality and how the two girls dealt with issues surrounding their relationships was very telling for their characters. I didn’t feel that Sam or the other boys (except maybe Edilio) grew much in this book, but that may be because I more naturally identify with girls. Although the ending was unexpected and a little *rocks fall, everything dies* I liked it. Changing up the game and surprising everyone was something that was really needed in this series. I’ll be looking to get the next book when it comes out soon because I really want to know what happens next!

This book was provided to me free by the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

Lies by Michael Grant

It's been seven months since all the adults disappeared. Gone. It happens in one night. A girl who died now walks among the living; Zil and the Human Crew set fire to Perdido Beach; and amid the flames and smoke, Sam sees the figure of the boy he fears the most: Drake. But Drake is dead. Sam and Caine defeated him along with the Darkness--or so they thought. As Perdido Beach burns, battles rage: Astrid against the Town Council; the Human Crew versus the mutants; and Sam against Drake, who is back from the dead and ready to finish where he and Sam left off. And all the while deadly rumors are raging like the fire itself, spread by the prophetess Orsay and her companion, Nerezza. They say that death is a way to escape the FAYZ. Conditions are worse than ever and kids are desperate to get out. But are they desperate enough to believe that death will set them free?

This book felt a little more contrived than the previous two, but, somehow, it also felt more coherent. I liked the character development, especially in Sam and Astrid. Their growth and the arc of their relationship was interesting to watch and it was nice to see them have to deal with day-to-day life rather than emergency after emergency. In fact, I think a lot of this book’s success lay in the few newly-introduced characters. We could concentrate on getting to know the characters we already saw better and sympathize more for them. It worked well, too. My heart was breaking with Mary’s decisions and her problems. I felt the same sadness and yet hope that Orsay was feeling. I could even sympathize with Lana and her PTSD. The new characters, on the other hand, seemed a little off. The island seemed very convenient and rather deus-ex-machina. The reveal about Petey, though, seemed to be so long in coming that I wasn’t as excited or even amused by it as I felt I should be. That’s not to say the book was entirely bad, though. Somewhere, halfway through this book, I think I finally got this series. Things stopped being about hopelessness and characters picked up and started acting instead of reacting and things got very interesting. I can’t quite pinpoint what it was or when, but I’ll be diving straight into the fourth book to try to figure it out!

Hunger by Michael Grant

It's been three months since everyone under the age of fifteen became trapped in the bubble known as the FAYZ. Three months since all the adults disappeared. GONE. Food ran out weeks ago. Everyone is starving, but no one wants to figure out a solution. And each day, more and more kids are evolving, developing supernatural abilities that set them apart from the kids without powers. Tension rises and chaos is descending upon the town. It's the normal kids against the mutants. Each kid is out for himself, and even the good ones turn murderous. But a larger problem looms. The Darkness, a sinister creature that has lived buried deep in the hills, begins calling to some of the teens in the FAYZ. Calling to them, guiding them, manipulating them. The Darkness has awakened. And it is hungry.

Although it was inevitable from the last book Hunger was even more bleak than Gone. There’s more and more of a downward spiral towards inevitable disaster, and I’m not sure I can follow to see the crash. This book has some good plot points: the continuing battle between Caine and Sam, the quickly disappearing food, further conflicts between the super-powered and the kids who haven’t developed powers, and more exposition about The Darkness. Rather than building tension, though, I really felt like these plot points were more about dog piling on an already grim situation. Instead of feeling anxious I felt hopelessness. About a third of the way through I felt similar to the kids, and I could feel the fight leach out of me as I decided I’d rather lay down and die than suffer like the kids were. Perhaps that is the aim of the author, to induce in the reader the feelings the kids are having in the book, but I wasn’t exactly pleased to experience it with no sense of hope. The cast of characters expanded in this book again, and as we got to know more of the kids better the hopelessness only increased. It actually got painful to get to know kids that you were sure were doomed. Other than the author beautifully putting the reader into the situation I had a few other problems with the book. The ending pivots on a highly strange tale involving the town’s nuclear reactor. While this justifies all the time spent describing it in Gone, it seemed very confusing. The chain of events was implausible at the least, and ridiculous as described. There are some simple ways to make things work, but the author didn’t go there which is annoying. If you are going to go to all the detail of describing a working nuclear reactor I’d think you would put in a little more work to make it accurate as well as propel the plot. The very ending finally seems to give hope to the kids, but it’s so late in the book I’m doubtful it’s going to result in real change and progress. I’ll keep reading, though, because something has me hooked and I have to see things through to the end.

Black Hole Sun by David Macinnis Gill

Durango is playing the cards he was dealt. And it’s not a good hand.

He’s lost his family.

He’s lost his crew.

And he’s got the scars to prove it.

You don’t want to mess with Durango.

This classic sci-fi western book was a delight to find. Although it has some of the issues that are ingrained in its genre Black Hole Sun was still a breath of fresh air in the current sci-fi/romances and fantasy/romances. Durango is a great character, and I was surprised to find that I really identified with him even though I almost always identify with the female lead. Perhaps Mimi, Durango’s iPhone-in-his-head-voice has a lot to do with that. Mimi is delightfully sarcastic and has a distinct personality of her own, but it connects with Durango’s very well in a great friendly, motherly, mischievous way. The alien bad guys in the story, the Drau, are a mix of zombie and alien and seem to be something I have seen before until a plot twist at the very end of the book changes my mind. Speaking of plot, although this book falls into the trap that many of the classics of its genre have in that it is a very slow starter and the plot can drag until it gets to its main storyline. It does give us time to get to know his davos, including Vienne, a tough-as-nails second in command mercenary that nonetheless had a personality that made her a very rounded character that plays well off the humor of Fuse. I did find some things confusing, like the slang (a friend said it was Australian maybe?) and the charting of time and calculation of ages. Although I understand why the author did this I wished there was a little primer or exposition that would explain it better early in the book. In all, though, if you like sci-fi western/military like Firefly or Zoe’s Tale you would be delighted with this book. I will be picking up the sequel soon, and since the plot picks up where this book left off I have high hopes that it will be even better than this book.

Speculative Fiction

Really, when we talk about Sci-Fi and Fantasy we're talking about Speculative Fiction. Speculative fiction is the broad category of fiction books that are not set in a realistic world. Unlike contemporary fiction, which is set in the factual present, or historical fiction that is set in the factual past, Speculative Fiction (or spec-fic) deals with book settings that are not realistic in some manner. To relate to this blog, it covers both sci-fi and fantasy books.

So if spec-fic covers both sci-fi and fantasy how do we tell them apart? The difference is in how the non-realistic things are dealt with. In sci-fi all of that is dealt with by science. Ships fly at the speed of light because there are light-speed engines, strange-looking beings are aliens who look different because they evolved on a different planet, or people have greater-than-natural abilities due to genetic manipulation. Fantasy, on the other hand, doesn't have a scientific explanation for things. Things fly because someone wills them to, strange-looking beings are magical incarnations such as faeries or goblins, and people have greater-than-natural abilities because they're under a spell or gifted by a god.


...



So what are the types of sci-fi? Here's a list of the categories I'll be using in my tags, shamelessly stolen from Wikipedia:

Hard SF - this is what people usually think all of sci-fi is. It's books that have plots that concentrate on physics and other "hard sciences" and meticulous worldbuilding with plot twists that generally rely on scientific things or phenomenon.

Soft SF - books that concentrate on the "soft sciences" such as sociology and politics. Dystopians are Soft SF books that take sociology or psychology to the extremes.

Cyberpunk - plots that rotate around technological advances of cybernetics - where people and technology merge into one being.

Biopunk - focuses on sciences that manipulate the human body through genetic technology instead of technological implantation.

Steampunk - imagines that the past (usually Victorian Europe or US) had advanced technologies. Called "steam"punk because the technical innovations often run by steam power instead of batteries or the like. There are variations, like decopunk, arcanepunk, and enginepunk, but I'm not going to separate them out.

Time Travel - plots where people travel through time.

Alternate History - plots that imagine the past was different than it really was. Steampunk is a sub-set of Alt History.

Military Sci-Fi - concentrates on wars and soldiers in big battles with advanced technologies.

Superhuman - plots that have human characters that have unusual powers due to some scientific reason. Closely related (and often intertwined) to Cyberpunk and Biopunk.

Apocalyptic - deals with the end of the world, either right before and how humans deal with it or right after and how humanity tries to recover. Usually split into pre- (before the end of the world) and post- (after the end of the world). Differs from Dystopian in that nature caused the end of a society and a rise of a new (sometimes oppressive) one, not people or their actions.

Dystopian - deals with a society that exists based on the deprivation, oppression, or terror of the people in the society. The plot usually searches to overthrow this society.

Space Opera - tales that deal with life on other planets or space travel. Often has a heroic tale slant to the plot.

Space Western - A plot that takes the tropes of westerns (cowboys, shoot-em-ups, frontiers) and combines it with science-fiction tropes (space ships, interplanetary travel, space exploration).

Generation Ship - not often an entirely different sub-genre, but it's become a popular slice of space opera crossed with dystopian so I'm separating it out.


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There are even more types of Fantasy than there are Science Fiction, but I'm not going to use all the variations on this blog. I don't feel there's a lot of need to show people the varieties of fantasy since it's readily embraced by YA readers. Here are the few I'll be using:

Urban Fantasy - modern people in modern settings encounter magic or the fantastic. Contains the Paranormal Romances so popular right now.

Hard Fantasy - where magic exists, but everything emulates worlds we know and is as realistic as possible (magic obeys laws of physics, etc.). This is a very difficult thing to describe, so I'll apply it sparingly.

High Fantasy - Heroes, sorcerers, intrigue, and a quest to resolve it all just like Tolkien.

Historical Fantasy - a historical setting, only with magic.

Mythic - retelling of myths, fairytales and/or folklore.

Mythical Creatures - technically a section of mythic, but there are so many of these today that I'm separating them out.

Superhero - people have magic powers for some reason.



I'll be working in the next few weeks to backdate all my old posts with these tags.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.

This new release has shot to my shortlist of best books released this year. I loved the plot, the characters, and everything about it. Juliette is a broken girl, but that is to be expected when she’s been in jail for 2 years and had no human contact for almost 1. I like that she still has agency and pushes to overcome doubts that she was born wrong. I think that, in her position, it would be very easy to give in to depression and despair, and although she brushes those she always manages to pull herself back enough to keep on going. The plot in this book is great, surprising but it has a flow to it that seems very natural and makes you want to keep reading. The romance is especially good. The two characters seem to support each other while still being independent and making choices jointly. Even though he’s stronger the boy never overpowers Juliette, instead they both recognize the strengths and weaknesses of themselves and their partner and work together to utilize them to get themselves out of bad situations. The very end seemed a little forced or not well set up in the former parts of the book, but since I think it is a setup for future books I will forgive it.

I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

In the beginning they were a group of nine. Nine aliens who left their home planet of Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorian. Nine aliens who scattered on Earth. Nine aliens who look like ordinary teenagers living ordinary lives, but who have extraordinary, paranormal skills. Nine aliens who might be sitting next to you now.

The Nine had to separate and go into hiding. The Mogadorian caught Number One in Malaysia, Number Two in England, and Number Three in Kenya. All of them were killed. John Smith, of Paradise, Ohio, is Number Four. He knows that he is next.

I AM NUMBER FOUR is the thrilling launch of a series about an exceptional group of teens as they struggle to outrun their past, discover their future—and live a normal life on Earth.

I AM NUMBER FOUR.
I AM NEXT.

I’m not sure why, but this book is a miss for me. The first problem is with the motivations. I don’t get the Mogadorians or their reasoning behind attacking Lorien, and I don’t get how the Loriens were able to smuggle children and their protectors off the planet. Mostly, though, I don’t get what nine earth children can do against a race of super-soldiers that a whole planet of adults couldn’t figure out. The whole premise seems very off to me. John is not much of a redemption either. His character seems rather flat, and he’s always reacting in a logical, boring manner. His romance of Sarah is almost scary. She is really a cardboard cutout for John to fill with his expectations, and at the end it’s revealed that John has “bonded” with her and she is the only person he will ever love – a heavy thing to put on a teenage girl, imo. The only character I really liked was Henri. The author seems to have thought a lot more about who he is and what he thinks of the world, so he’s a lot more believable as a person. Perhaps the pretentions of the author have a bit to do with things, too. “Pittacus Lore” is an alien elder, and putting him forward as the author of the book seems rather arrogant, and this arrogance kinda extends through the story as well. It’s not very tangible, but there were definitely times I felt the author was saying “Look! Amaze at the cleverness of me!”.

I have to admit that I read the book right before seeing the movie, so the two kinda blended together in my head. I did think that the movie was more choppy than the book, but it did flesh out 6 a lot better than the book, so thank goodness for the trend of injecting a sassy female. Henri suffered, though. The movie makers seemed to take the pretentions of the author and try to cram it as full of explosions as they could manage, whether it made sense or not. In all, I think both the book and the movie are a pass.